Zabuza heard it through the fog.
Thunderous detonations rolled across the sea, layered with the crash of waves. Beneath it all, there was something else, raw and distorted. A scream torn apart by laughter.
Raiga?
Zabuza's expression darkened.
"What's that lunatic doing?" he muttered. "It's just a kid."
Then another blast shook the mist.
His brow furrowed. No matter how unstable Raiga was, his strength was real. On the battlefield, he was no weaker than Zabuza himself.
To be pushed this far…
Zabuza's gaze shifted toward the other battlefield. The fog there was thinning. Ice mirrors shattered one after another, collapsing into glittering fragments.
His mood sank further.
Before he could move, several massive shapes burst out of the mist.
Growls split the air.
Large ninja hounds lunged at him, muscles coiled, fangs bared and dripping. Their eyes locked on him with trained ferocity.
"Tch."
Zabuza vanished in a blur, water exploding beneath his feet as he retreated. The hounds followed relentlessly, howling as they closed the distance.
Steel flashed.
Zabuza spun, executioner's blade carving a wide arc. Chakra screamed along the edge, tearing the air apart.
Two hounds were cleaved in half mid-leap. Blood and fragments scattered across the sea before their bodies fell limp.
Zabuza's eyes hardened as he raised his blade again.
That was when lightning screamed.
A short blade wreathed in crackling electricity pierced straight toward his heart, the sound sharp enough to stab the ears.
Kakashi.
Zabuza barely had time to react. He dragged the executioner's blade back and braced.
The impact was brutal.
Metal shrieked. Sparks and lightning exploded outward. The stench of scorched steel filled the fog.
Zabuza's eyes widened.
The blade had punched a hole straight through the thick body of his sword. A shallow mark burned across his chest. Any deeper and it would have been fatal.
Without hesitation, Zabuza slammed his foot down.
The sea detonated.
Water erupted in towering waves, shock ripples racing outward. Using the recoil, Zabuza slipped sideways, his path twisting unpredictably as he vanished back into the mist.
By the time Kakashi regained his footing, Zabuza was gone again.
Kakashi stared at the water.
On land, this would have ended already. The hounds would have pinned him. The earth would have betrayed him.
But this was the open sea.
Kakashi turned, eyes falling on the bodies drifting nearby.
"Akino… Guruk…"
His jaw tightened.
They weren't just summons. They were comrades. Family.
Kakashi's expression drained of warmth, replaced by something sharp and cold.
"Zabuza."
This was no longer about the mission.
Elsewhere, the battle raged on.
A violent shockwave tore through the fog as Naruto landed, chakra roaring outward like a storm. Ice mirrors shattered again, fragments ringing like broken glass.
White stared in disbelief.
What kind of monster fights like this?
The blond boy showed no restraint. No hesitation. Each strike carried overwhelming force, and there was no sign of exhaustion. No pause. No slowdown.
White's breathing grew shallow. His limbs trembled.
His chakra was nearly gone.
Still, he forced his hands together.
"I have to hold them," he whispered. "Even if it kills me."
The technique took hold.
Color returned to his face, unnatural and fleeting. He was burning his own life to pull out more chakra, squeezing strength from a body that had nothing left to give.
A final gamble.
One that only ever ended one way.